It's not Sasuke,,, It's me,,, Shikamaru
by Hyuchiha Ruki
Summary: Every now and then, he glanced at Ino, who never made a move. ‘Please be alive, Ino...’ Shikamaru thought.


I know I'm supposed to be working on 'Proof of his Love' right now but this story suddenly popped into my mind after seeing a ShikaIno fan art. It's just one chapter so R&R please.

**Disclaimer: if I owned Naruto, Asuma would still be alive.**

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'I told her to let me go with her, that troublesome girl…'

Shikamaru leaped from tree to tree, searching everywhere for Ino. He stopped on a thick branch and examined the sun. The sun was already at the horizon, soon to set.

"Man," he grumbled, "I've been searching since noon. Where is she?"

Sitting down, Shikamaru recalled the incident that happened 2 weeks ago:

"_I've got a mission!" Ino squealed ecstatically, "Tsunade-sama gave me a mission!"_

_She was hopping around like a child who just got a bag of candies. Shikamaru and Choji watched her jump around, _

"_Stop acting like a kid, Ino," Shikamaru said, "Why are you so psyched?" (A/C: I use 'psyched' a lot in real life.)_

_Ino placed her hands on her hips and confidently eyed her two teammates, "Well," she began, "Didn't I tell you that it's a solo mission?"_

_Jaw dropped, Shikamaru gaped at her, "Solo? You mean, you're going alone?"_

_Ino nodded happily, "Yeah!" she replied eagerly, "If I get this done right, I'll get credit! I'll be the talk of the town!"_

'_Poor Ino…' Choji thought, 'All she thinks of is becoming a gossip topic.'_

_Shikamaru went up to her and said, "I'm going with you, Ino. It's dangerous out there, you know. It's practically suicide to go on your own."_

_Ino scowled at him and said, pointing her finger at him, "Don't you belittle me, Shika! You've been to several missions on your own so why can't I?"_

_To make it simple, Shikamaru was just concerned for Ino. "I came back unconscious with three broken bones, Ino. I don't want that or anything worst happening to you!"_

"_Yeah, right, Shika!" she growled back, "You should be rooting for me or something. It's my first solo mission! Sasuke-kun was so proud of me! Why can't you be, too?"_

_Rolling his eyes, Shikamaru said, "I am rooting for you! Ino, just let me go with you…"_

_Ino hit him hard on the arm, "No! I'll show you, Shika! I'll be back from this mission and you'll see that I don't need you or your help!"_

He shook his head and sighed. That was the last time he saw Ino. She had a furrowed brow and a fiery glare in her eyes. What if he never saw her again? Would he still see her smile again?

Not giving up, Shikamaru got up and brushed the dirt off his pants. Her mission was actually simple: Tsunade wanted her to pick a couple of rare herbs just outside the Waterfall Village. How hard could that be?

When Sasuke heard that Ino still hasn't returned, he said just a few words:

"Who's Ino?"

Shikamaru wanted to punch Sasuke's jaw up to the heavens but instead, he left the village and went looking for her. He'll stop at nothing just so he'd find her.

'That jerk…' Shikamaru thought to himself, thinking of Sasuke, 'Why does Ino like him so much, anyway? I thought he was just an elementary crush. We're almost 16 now… can't she get over him?'

Shikamaru forced into his mind that he hated Sasuke for being a show-off but deep inside, he knew he was simply jealous.

'_What if you don't find Ino, Shikamaru?' Choji asked._

Shikamaru recalled his conversation with Choji before going out to look for Ino:

'_What if…?' Choji repeated._

_Shikamaru shook his head, "I'll find her…" he said, almost sure, "If I don't… I'll keep looking."_

_Choji blocked his path, "Idiot!" he yelled, "You can't look for her forever! Who knows? She might come back while you're away, searching for her in vain."_

_Shoving Choji aside, Shikamaru firmly said, "… Doesn't matter. I'm gonna go look for Ino. See ya, Choji…"_

_As he paced farther from the village gate, Choji called out, "You'll regret it, Shikamaru! Think about it!"_

'What if Choji's right?' he asked himself, 'What if Ino's back in the village now?'

His anxiety was overcoming him little by little. He was frozen, thinking if he should give up or not.

Soon, memories repeated in his mind: sparring with Ino, lunch with Ino and Choji, cloud-watching with the two…

…and times with Ino…

'What the…?' he thought, 'Why am I remembering that now? Humph. Troublesome…'

He hopped from the branch and went on, 'Whichever way…' he said in his thoughts, 'I'll still look for her…'

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Nightfall came and Shikamaru could hardly see anything. The humongous tree branches and twigs below the moon blocked some moon light.

"Crap… What now?" he mumbled to himself.

He landed onto the ground. He continued his journey, walking on foot.

Because it was dark, Shikamaru could hardly dodge the minor obstacles he met along the way:

He got his feet muddy after crossing a puddle blindly.

His hair got caught in a couple of small, thin branches that bent too low. At the situation, he got his hair messed up. A branch caught him by the ponytail and when he got himself out of the scrap, he realized that his hair was now down.

He slipped on a wet and slippery rock crossing a river and fell back first. He was drenched from his head down to his toes.

Soon, he felt his eyes growing heavy. His body was numb. At the exhaustion, Shikamaru fell over and lay by the roots of a tree.

"Aw, man…" he muttered, "Where the hell could she be?"

He buried his face in his hands and sighed. He has to find Ino. Who knows what could've happened to her?

Desperate, Shikamaru concentrated his chakra onto his feet and climbed up a tree. He reached the top and stood tall, looking at the nearby places. Squinting his eyes, Shikamaru spotted a field of what seemed like flowers.

At that, he pounced from tree to tree until he reached the field.

There, he stared at what lay in the middle of the field…

"Ino!" he shouted out.

Her unconscious body lay there amid the herbs and flowers. He ran lamely towards her, hoping he wasn't too late. He felt her forehead and sensed a fever. She was pale and her right shoulder was slashed and bleeding.

He tore a piece from his shirt and wrapped it around the wound. He leaned against her chest to check if she was still breathing. Negative. Slightly panicking, Shikamaru picked her up and took all his strength to try to bring her back to the village.

The limp body felt so heavy in his weak arms. He hurried himself, making an effort to see through the dark forest.

Every now and then, he glanced at Ino, who never made a move. 'Please be alive…' Shikamaru thought.

His damp hair fell over his eyes and every now and then, he'd throw his head back to get it out of the way.

Indolently, Ino opened her eyes imperceptibly enough to make out a blurry sight. She saw the slick, brunette hair and assumed,

'Sasuke…' she thought, tired, 'He… rescued me…'

Weary, she fell back into a deep sleep.

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Blinking, Ino regained consciousness. She was in the Leaf Hospital.

"Wha…" was all she could say for now.

Around her were 'Get Well Soon' cards, chocolates and bouquets of flowers. She managed to sit up and continued to gaze around her. But, what caught her eye was Shikamaru, asleep on a chair with a couple pf bandages around his arms.

"Shika?" she said, waking him up.

Shikamaru opened his eyes and looked at her, "Hey… you're awake…" he muttered, stretching, "How are you feeling?"

Ino glanced at her bandaged shoulder and said, "My… arm's a little painful and I'm still groggy."

Shikamaru nodded his head and said, "You didn't come back from your mission for 2 weeks… why?"

"I got into trouble…" Ino admitted, "A group of thugs or something saw me two days after I left the village for the mission. They tried to take me and all…"

Shikamaru shivered at the point.

"…When I managed to get away, I continued looking for the herbs. I found 3 out of 12 already. Then, I got lost. I didn't know if it was an illusion or whatever but then, someone took hold of me and slashed my shoulder. I don't know how I got unconscious…"

Shikamaru just went on listening to her tell the story, "I don't know what happened, actually. It was just so… fast. I dunno…"

After walking towards her, Shikamaru patted Ino's hand and said, "Well, all that matters now is that you're safe now. Get some rest."

Ino didn't acknowledge him. She seemed like she was deep in thought, "Shika, do me a favor…" she said.

"What is it?" Shikamaru asked.

"Tell…" Ino said, "…Tell Sasuke thanks… for saving me and bringing me back to the village…"

Shikamaru's expression changed. "Sasuke…?"

Leaning back, Ino explained, "When I gained a little consciousness, I felt that I was in someone's arms. I looked up and saw black hair hanging from his head. It was Sasuke, carrying me back to the village. But, then, I fell asleep."

Shikamaru knew what she was talking about but it definitely wasn't Sasuke. It was he she was talking about. But, he decided to just shut up about it.

"Sure. I'll… I'll tell him…" was all that Shikamaru could reply, "… So, I'll see you later, Ino. I have… training."

Ino nodded in understanding.

He walked out the door and closed it behind him. At the hallway, Shikaamru shoved his hands into his pockets and mumbled to himself, "Humph. It was worth it."

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**There. Okay… Reviews are welcome so click that little button at the bottom left saying 'Go'… Heehee. Thanks for reading.**


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